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Long Park Merced public hearing draws mixed testimony; commission extends DEIR comment period
Summary
The Planning Commission opened a public hearing on the Park Merced draft EIR, heard hours of pro and con testimony about demolition, displacement, transit and environmental impacts, and extended the written comment period from June 28 to July 12.
The Planning Commission on June 17 held a lengthy public hearing on the Park Merced draft environmental impact report (DEIR), which analyzes a multi‑decade plan to reshape the 191‑acre Park Merced site with new housing, retail, transit improvements and sustainability measures.
Rick Cooper of the Planning Department’s environmental analysis section summarized the DEIR: over roughly 20 years the project could result in about 8,900 residential units (about 5,679 net new units), new commercial and retail services, transit changes (including rerouting the M Ocean View line through the site), renewable energy installations (wind turbines and photovoltaic arrays), stormwater capture and other infrastructure. The DEIR identifies potentially significant unavoidable impacts in multiple areas including historic architectural resources, transportation, noise, air quality, wind and biological resources.
Public comment ran for many hours and included a wide range of views. Several long‑time Park Merced residents and tenant advocates spoke against the plan, arguing that the DEIR understates social and socioeconomic impacts of demolishing more than 1,500 rent‑controlled garden apartments and inadequately addresses replacement, enforcement and the enforceability of developer promises. Speakers including Kathy Lentz and Julian Lagos raised concerns about the developer’s financial condition, the loss of landscaped open space and potential displacement.
Other speakers supported the DEIR as thorough and a model of sustainable redevelopment. Supporters, including local business and housing‑advocacy groups, praised proposals for transit improvements, energy and water conservation and walkable retail. Agencies and organizations urged rigorous mitigation and careful phasing.
Commissioners debated the DEIR’s scope, adequacy of alternatives (several speakers asked staff to re‑examine an infill/preservation alternative), the proper level of socioeconomic analysis and the phasing/implementation timeline. After discussion the commission voted to extend the DEIR written comment period two weeks, from the published June 28 deadline to close of business on Monday, July 12, 2010, to give the public more time to prepare targeted, citation‑based comments to aid responses and revisions.
Staff reiterated that written comments and all testimony will be transcribed and addressed in the comments‑and‑responses volume to follow; the commission noted future opportunities for comment as the project advances beyond certification and entitlement.
